Mahfouz's Half a Day

The short story Half a Day got me thinking about several topics and points. I started to think weather the author was trying to say life goes by fast or if he was making the point that what he did in his childhood deeply affected the rest of his life. Also by it deeply affecting the rest of his life he was better off than if he had not gone to school evan though he did not like school. The ending of the short story was very interesting and slightly confusing, but it got me thinking and wondering.